Frequently Asked Questions

frequently asked questions

About Sunday's Child

Who is sunday's child?

Sunday's Child is a Florida not-for-profit organization, 501(c)(3).

Members of Sunday's Child each contribute an annual membership donation of $1,000 which is pooled and awarded as $25,000 to $50,000 grants to non-profit organizations and economic initiatives which significantly contribute to the Pensacola Bay Area (Escambia and Santa Rosa Florida Counties) for a designated year.

All qualified grant recipients, at the very least, value diversity and encourage inclusiveness and are not discriminating in their workplace.

Sunday's Child has no paid employees or staff, and 100% of the membership donation is awarded to charity.

what is sunday's child's mission?

Our mission (the work we do to reach our vision) is to promote equality and inspire inclusion across the community by awarding grants for significant charitable and economic initiatives.

what is sunday's child's vision?

A fully accepting and inclusive Pensacola that embraces the LGBTQ citizens and their contributions to the community.

what is sunday's child's guiding principles?

To serve the community.

To promote a wider visibility of the LGBTQ community.

To promote a wider acceptance of the LGBQT community by setting a philanthropic example.

WHEN WAS SUNDAY'S CHILD FOUNDED?

SUNDAY’S CHILD was founded in October of 2013 by 10 LGBTQ friends and organized into a Florida non-profit organization in the summer of 2014.

WHO IS ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND WHAT IS THEIR ROLE?

Members of the Sunday's Child Board have diverse backgrounds, but are all focused on the mission of Sunday's Child. The Board is described as a “working board” since there are no paid employees, and the mission of the organization is carried out via the Board and Sunday's Child members.

WHAT IS SUNDAYS CHILD'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NON-PROFITS?

Sunday's Child has a good working relationship with the non-profits in the area. Sunday's Child's continued existence is dependent upon the non-profits of the community being able to generate good grant requests.

HOW DOES SUNDAY'S CHILD PAY FOR ITS ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS?

Sunday's Child has very limited expenses, since it has no paid staff. The administrative costs relating to Sunday's Child and its operations are either donated, or are paid with administrative monies held by Sunday's Child.

The administrative monies are:

Donations from Supporters (Friends and Sponsors) of Sunday's Child who make donations to cover administrative costs

Matching grants from employers of Sunday's Child members

Interest earned on the grant monies prior to disbursement of the grants to the recipients.

How does Sunday's Child stay in touch with its members?

Because Sunday's Child has no paid employees, it uses email communication whenever possible to stay in touch with its members. It also produces a newsletter to keep its members advised of the current events relating to the organization.

What is Sunday's Child's privacy policy?

Sunday's Child recognizes the need for discretion and offers confidential and anonymous donations to members seeking anonymity. Additionally, any information provided to Sunday's Child via grant application, membership registration, or newsletter sign-up, is never shared or sold to any third-party institutions. You can read our privacy policy here.

what is sunday's child non-discrimination policy?

Sunday’s Child does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or military status, in any of its activities or operations. These activities include, but are not limited to, selection or acceptance of members, volunteers and vendors, and provision of services. We are committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all of our members, volunteers, staff, subcontractors, vendors, clients, associates, and constituents.

Updated by Board of Directors of Sunday’s Child on March 1, 2018

About Sunday's Child Grants

What types of grants are awarded via Sunday's Child?

Sunday's Child awards grants in increments of $25,00 to $50,000, to fund significant projects located in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties. The projects may be for a new program, the expansion of an existing program or may be a collaborative effort among several agencies. Grants awarded fall into one or all of the following categories (note: updated categories as of 2019):

Animals, Environment, & Recreation

Health & Wellness

Arts, Culture, & Education

LGBTQ, Diversity, & Inclusion

Human Services, Community & Economic Development

Sunday's Child does not fund:

General operating expenses or overhead

Debt reduction or operational deficits

Grants to individuals

Endowment funding

Interim or bridge funding

Partisan, legislative or political activity

How does Sunday's Child award its grants?

Sunday's Child has a very specific grant process, which is implemented by the individual members of Sunday's Child and the Board of Directors (the “Board”). Members are involved in the grant process as follows:

Creation of Committees: Each of the five focus committees consists of Sunday's Child members who volunteer to participate on the committees. All Sunday's Child members have the option of participating on a committee.

Review of Applications: Each committee member reads all of the grants that are submitted to that committee and are discussed at each committee meeting.

Site Visits: As part of its grant process, Sunday's Child sends at least 2 committee members to each non-profit to conduct a site visit. The site visits are a critical part of the grant process, as they allow the members to visit with the organizations, it insures that the members are able to fully understand the written grant application, and it allows the members to ask additional questions, obtain additional information and clarify the facts pertaining to the grant request.

Selection of Finalists: Each committee reviews and discusses every grant that has been submitted to that committee. The discussion focuses on the grant application, the organization’s financial information and the site visit. The length of the discussions will vary, depending upon the grant and the feedback from each committee member. When voting on the selection of the finalists by the committee, all individual members have 1 vote each and all ensemble members have 1 vote each as well.

Selection of Recipients: Once the committees select their finalists, Sunday's Child sends written summaries of the non-profit finalists to all members. The summaries focus on the quality of the organization, the quality of the project, the impact on the community and an overview of diversity and inclusion. Each finalist selects up to 2 representatives to make a presentation to the Sunday's Child members at the annual meeting. All presentations are verbal, and no one is allowed to use any multi-media to assist with the presentations, so there is no “advantage” to larger organizations that have the ability to create impressive power-point presentation. After hearing the presentations of the finalists, the members vote for the grant recipients. The votes are calculated and announced at the annual meeting. (Sunday's Child also has procedures allowing for its members to cast an absentee vote if they are not able to attend the meeting, but all members are encouraged to attend the annual meeting.)

How does Sunday's Child oversee the distribution of monies to award non-profit agencies?

Grant Agreements. The non-profits that receive an Sunday's Child grant sign a Grant Agreement. The grant agreement ensures that the non-profit agrees to use the funds in accordance with grant and the Sunday's Child procedures. The funds must be spent in accordance with the budget, with any substantial changes in the budget being approved by the Board, to insure the funds are being spent in accordance with the purpose of the grant. Sunday's Child requires invoices and documents to evidence each disbursement of funds under the grants. Grant recipient must expend all funds within 18 months of award

Board Liaisons. Upon the selection of the grant recipients, a member of the Board is assigned to be the “liaison” for the project. The liason remains in continuous contact with the grant recipient, and receives all requests for funding from the non-profit.

Quarterly Reports. As part of agreement with Sunday's Child, the non-profit must submit quarterly reports to Sunday's Child until all of the funds are spent to implement the project. The Board may also obtain any other information it requests to monitor the project. The grant recipients are discussed at every Board meeting, until the project is completed. The Board strongly believes that the projects must be carefully monitored to ensure that the funds are being used in accordance with the grant applications, as selected by the members of Sunday's Child.

How does Sunday's Child safeguard against Conflicts of Interest?

We are committed to selecting our grant recipients through an honest and fair process. In support of this commitment, Sunday's Child has adopted a Conflicts of Interest Policy that requires disclosure of relationships between our members and any grant applicant. Sunday Child’s policy recognizes the potential for conflict of interest and safeguards against them by requiring any board committee member to excuse himself or herself from the discussion and/or vote on any topic where a conflict arises. Members who are serving on the board or a committee of Sunday Child will be formally required to disclose potential conflicts of interest. At a minimum, Sunday Child expects all members to act in an objective and fair manner. In particular, members are expected to refrain from any attempt to gain an unfair advantage for any particular grant applicant by, among other things, disclosing confidential information and/or attempting to persuade other members of Sunday Child to vote for such grant applicant.

About Sunday's Child Membership

Who are the members of Sunday's child?

Sunday's Child is open to everyone 18 years of age or older who live in, or who wish to help, the Pensacola Bay Area community (Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties). Sunday's Child is a group of citizen activists with diverse backgrounds, who contribute $1,000 to maintain their membership in any given year. The membership in Sunday's Child changes each year.

What is expected from the individual members of sunday's child?

Sunday's Child has no requirements regarding a member’s active participation in the organization. If a member has limited time, he or she contributes $1,000 and comes to the annual meeting to choose the grant recipients for that year. However, if a member has the time and desire, he or she can be an active member on the various committees, can participate in site visits and can actively assist the organization in selecting its grant recipients. Each member’s participation is dependent upon their personal situation and can change from year to year.

is participation limited only to individual memberships?

Not at all. All members, whether individual or as part of ensemble membership, may participate in the organization and are encouraged to do so.

what are the restrictions of board membership if I am currently an ensemble members?

Board members MUST hold a membership, either as an individual or ensemble. If you feel passionate about contributing to Sunday's Child, you are welcome to join any leadership position, regardless of your membership level.